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2021 SEAT Leon Struggles in Moose Test, Handles Worse Than Old Model

The SEAT Leon used to be known as a sportier version of the German Volkswagen Golf, a sports hatch for young buyers. But the Spanish hatchback has gone all premium, and this may have affected the way it handles.
2021 SEAT Leon Struggles in Moose Test, Handles Worse Than Old Model 1 photo
Photo: km77.com/YouTube screenshot
The auto magazine KM77 has subjected the all-new 2021 Leon to their usual moose test procedure. The aim of this is to see how any car would handle if a large animal appeared in your lane and had to be abruptly avoided.

The highest speed at which the Leon was able to perform this test was 75 kph (46.6 mph), which is 2 kph (1.6 mph) slower than it should be. In addition, the driver found it difficult to control the car, as it handles erratically, had pronounced body role and required intervention (braking) from the stability system.

That's not actually a horrible result, and it falls in line with what we've seen from the new VW Golf and Skoda Octavia. However, we wanted to see how the new Leon relates to the old one and we were in for some confusion.

A year ago, a 2017 Leon was tested. This was the facelift of the previous hatch, and it featured exactly the same tires as the 2021 tester: Bridgestone Potenza 225/40 R18. The engine was also the same kind, a 1.5-liter turbo with mild hybrid assistance.

The older model managed to perform the test at a higher speed, while words like "balanced and easy to predict," were used to describe its steering. The only obvious difference we can think of is the suspension setup.

While the new model featured the luxury XCellence trim level, the old car had FR badges. That means it could have featured lower and stiffer suspend. Sporty springs, sporty handling - no surprises there. Tell us what you think after watching both tests below.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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